The police arrested the student’s class teacher, P Vijayakumar, on Thursday. (Representational image)Police in Coimbatore have arrested a government-aided schoolteacher and booked the school’s headmaster and two students for abetment of suicide after a 16-year-old Dalit student died by suicide, with his family alleging that he had been subjected to caste-based harassment that intensified after a classroom discussion about eating beef.After the Class 11 student was found dead at his home in Peelamedu on Wednesday, his mother alleged that two classmates had repeatedly targeted him with caste-based remarks, taunted him over his food habits and assaulted him.The police arrested the student’s class teacher, P Vijayakumar, on Thursday. The school headmaster, Arun Kumar, and the two students have also been named in the case and are being questioned, according to the police. The allegations centre on an incident in the student’s classroom about two months ago.According to the mother’s complaint, Vijayakumar had sought to identify Scheduled Caste students eligible for a scholarship programme, and the student enrolled for the benefit. The teacher subsequently asked which students ate beef, prompting the student and several others to stand up, she alleged.After that episode, the mother claimed, two classmates began harassing the student over his caste and food choices. She alleged that her son complained about the harassment to Vijayakumar and later to the headmaster, but neither intervened.The mother said she had considered approaching the school herself but abandoned the idea because the student feared that doing so could further isolate him and make him a target. The student had stayed away from school for several days before returning recently, according to his family. On Wednesday morning, he left home around 8 am, telling his mother he was going to school. Police believe he subsequently returned home.The mother, who works as a domestic worker, found him dead when she returned around lunchtime. The student did not leave a suicide note, police said. His father works at a resort in Kerala.Story continues below this ad“He wanted to become an advocate,” the father told the Tamil media, accusing the school authorities and teacher of responsibility for his son’s death and demanding justice. Relatives and family members gathered outside the Peelamedu police station and protested, demanding arrests and a thorough investigation.Police registered a case invoking sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to abetment of suicide and voluntarily causing hurt, along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Senior police officers and the Child Welfare Committee are examining the circumstances surrounding the death.The District Educational Officer also conducted an inquiry at the school on Thursday. The preliminary inquiry found that two Dalit teachers had voluntarily been handling the process of enrolling students for scholarships. It also noted that the mother had visited the school on October 8 to sign the student’s progress report but had not raised a complaint about the alleged harassment at that time. That finding does not resolve the family’s allegations, which remain under police investigation.The Tamil Nadu State Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has sought a report from the Coimbatore City Police Commissioner within a week.Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority. Expertise Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews. Key Coverage Areas: State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor. Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties. Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu. Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail. His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism. Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More Tags:dalit